Headache is a term used to describe a varied set of symptoms, ranging in intensity from mild discomfort to the very severe syndrome known by the name of migraine.
While the most severe and debilitating form of headache is migraine headache there are several other types of headaches that warrant consideration in terms of prevalence, including but not limited to premenstrual syndrome (PMS) associated headaches and the condition associated with morning after alcohol consumption, commonly referred to as hangover. Symptoms such as headache, fever, chills, nausea, muscle and nerve pain, lethargy, and others are often manifested during the syndrome known as hangover.
While not life-threatening conditions, both PMS and hangover can be very unpleasant, as well as detrimental on the job or at home. Currently, the most common methods of treating these conditions include self-administration of NSAIDs, painkillers, and other prescription and OTC drugs.
The following publications provide some background art relating to headaches in general and migraines in particular, their causes and their modes of treatment:
1. Capobianco “An overview of the diagnosis and pharmacologic treatment of migraine” Mayo Clin. Proc. (1996) 71:1055–1066.
2. Cohen “Migraine Headache and the Managed Care Formulary” Drugs Benefit Trends (1996) 8(8) 28–30, 33–34,41.
3. Diamond, “Do Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Agents Have a Role in the Treatment of Migraine Headaches” Drugs (1989) 37:755–760.
4. Klapper, “Toward a standard drug formulary for the treatment of headache” Headache (1995) April, 225–227.
5. Kumar, “Recent advances in the acute management of migraine and cluster headaches” Journal of General Internal Medicine (1994) 9:339–348.
6. Matthew, “Serotonin 1D (5-HT1D) agonists and other agents in acute migraine” Advances in Headache, (1997) 15(1): 61–81.
7. Pradalier, “Treatment Review: Non-Steroid Anti-Inflammatory Drugs in the Treatment and Long-Term Prevention of Migraine Attacks” Headache (1988) 28:550–557.
8. Pryse-Phillips, “Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of migraine in clinical practice” Can. Med. Assoc. J. (1997) 156(9):1273–1287.
9. Wilkinson, “Migraine and cluster headache—their management with sumatriptan: a critical review of the current clinical experience” Cephalalgia (1995) 15:337–357.
The following paragraphs highlight the present knowledge regarding migraines and their treatment.